Quebec = Europe without crossing the pond

We arrived in Quebec by train Wednesday morning, a quick taxi ride up the hill and we were in Old Quebec at The Château Frontenac Hotel. The name "Quebec", which comes from the Algonquin word kébec meaning "where the river narrows", originally referred to the area around Quebec City where the Saint Lawrence River narrows to a cliff-lined gap. French explorer Samuel de Champlain chose the name Québec in 1608 for the colonial outpost he would use as the administrative seat for the French colony of New France. Today Quebec city has grown into a city of 750,000 the seventh largest city in Canada. Old Quebec is the draw of the area, reminding me of many of the European cities that Nita and I have visited; add in the fact that the first language of Quebec is French and you feel like you are in Europe.

We had our first dinner in Quebec in Lower Quebec, taking a Fanicular down the cliff side to La Marie Clanisse. The restaurant is in a cirta 1790 building built into the cliff thus providing an intimate atmosphere, their speciality is seafood thus we ordered various meals from Linguine with lobster sauce and shrimp to Atlantic Halibut. The food was good but a bit pricey at about $40 per plate. We'll spend more time in Lower Quebec, it seems to be the place to find the best restaurants.

The Battle of the Plains of Abraham, also known as the Battle of Quebec, was a pivotal battle in the Seven Years' War (referred to as the French and Indian War in the United States). The confrontation, which began on 13 September 1759, was fought between the British Army and Navy, and the French Army, on a plateau just outside the walls of Quebec City, on land owned by a farmer named Abraham Martin.

The battle involved fewer than 10,000 troops between both sides, but proved to be a deciding moment in the conflict between France and Britain over the fate of New France, influencing the later creation of Canada. Nita and I spent Thursday morning walking in the rain through what is now a park and nature trail reliving the siege on Old Quebec. The culmination of a three-month siege by the British, the battle lasted about an hour about a third of the time that it took us to walk the battle field.

The center piece of Old Quebec is The Château Frontenac Hotel, designed by the American architect Bruce Price, it is one of a series of "château" style hotels built for the Canadian Pacific Railway company at the end of the 19th and the start of the 20th century. The railway company sought to encourage luxury tourism and bring wealthy travellers to its trains. The Château Frontenac opened in 1893, five years after its sister-hotel, the Banff Springs. The going rate for a room at the Chateu Frontenac is $350 to $450 per night but by booking through travelocity I was able to get our rooms for under $200 per night. The key is to book early. Our room is great with a three window view of the river, it's comfortable but not as nice as the Saint-Sulpice in Montreal.

Although several of Quebec City's buildings stand taller, the hotel is perched atop a tall cape overlooking the Saint Lawrence River, thus giving a spectacular view for several miles. The building is the most prominent feature of the Quebec City skyline as seen from across the St. Lawrence, and is a symbol of the city. The hotel was built near the Plains of Abraham.

Thursday afternoon we opted for a bus tour which got us out of the rain and into outlying Quebec City. The tour highlights were Saint-Anne_De-Beaupte (a Catholic Church known for its healing of those in need), Ile d'Orleans (a charming island atmosphere close to Quebec City ) and Chute Montmorency (Quebec's tallest waterfalls 1.5 X Niagara Falls).



We had dinner at Portofino on the recommendation of the hotel concierge. The magnificent façade of this historic house built in 1760 gives a welcoming entrance out of the continuing rain.(the corner of Rue Saint-Jean, Rue Couillard, and Côte de la Fabrique) Portofino is an Italian bistro with a casual atmosphere good food live music and as soon as we arrived, we smelled the fine aroma of pizza, pasta, and all the other superb dishes of the most popular Italian restaurant in Quebec City.

Friday morning Nita choose to explore Lower Old Quebec. The Up Town is linked by the literally "neck-breaking" steps and the Old Quebec Funicular to the Lower Town, which includes such sites as the ancient Notre Dame des Victoires church, the historic Petit Champlain district, the port, and the Musée de la Civilisation (Museum of Civilization). The Lower Town is filled with original architecture and street designs, dating back to the city's beginnings. Murals and statues are also featured. The Lower Town is also noted for its wide variety of boutiques, many featuring hand-crafted goods some of which we purchased. Quebec city's downtown is on the lower part of the town. Its epicentre is adjacent to the old town where we came in by train and will leave via ship.

Lunch was late at Aux Anciens Canadiens, Nita had the Wild Meat Pie, containing Deer, Elk, Caraboo, and potatoes in pastry. I had red wine Nita had a red beer, we both had soup, I had Maple Syrup Pie she had blueberry cake all this for $19.95 each, but you have to get there before 5:45 after the prices go to $49.95. The restaurant is 200 yards to the right of the Chateau, if you're in Quebec it's a must. We had reservations at le Lapin Saute for the evening but canceled because were to full, it features rabbit and duck and is hard to get into. It's a must if we ever come back, but for tonight we may have to find some gelato.

"You Can't Leave Montreal"

The city tour by Grey Lines gave us an overview of Montreal and its history, some of what we Ron and I had seen on our bike ride and our walking through Old Town. This tour added new Montreal and Mount Royal.

Mount Royal is a mountain in the city of Montreal, immediately north of downtown Montreal. The mountain is part of the Monteregian Hills situated between the Laurentians and the Appalachians. It gave its Latin name, Mons Regius, to the Monteregian chain. The mountain consists of three peaks: Colline de la Croix (or Mont Royal proper) at 233 m (764 ft), Colline d'Outremont (or Mount Murray, in the borough of Outremont ) at 211 m (692 ft), and Westmount mount at 201 m (659 ft) elevation above mean sea level. At this height, it might be otherwise considered a hill, but it has always been called a mountain. Some tourist guidebooks state that Mount Royal is an extinct volcano. The mountain is not a traditional volcano as such. However, it is the deep extension of a vastly eroded ancient volcanic complex, which was probably active about 125 million years ago. The mountain is the site of Mount Royal Park, one of Montreal's largest greenspaces. The park was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, who also designed New York's Central Park, the grounds at Baltimore, as well as parks in Atlanta.

We also visited Saint Josephs Basilica on Mount Royal. In 1904, Blessed André Bessette, began the construction of a small chapel on the side of the mountain near Notre Dame College. Soon the growing number of visitors made it too small. Even though it was enlarged, a larger church was needed and in 1917 one was completed - it is called the Crypt, and has a seating capacity of 1,000. In 1924, the construction of the basilica was inaugurated; it was finally completed in 1967. The Oratory's dome is the third-largest of its kind in the world after the Basilica of Our Lady of Peace of Yamoussoukro in the Ivory Coast and Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome, and the church is the largest in Canada. The basilica is dedicated to Saint Joseph, to whom Brother André credited all his reported miracles.

The Olympic Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in the Hochelaga-Maisonneuve district of Montreal, Quebec, Canada built as the main venue for the 1976 Summer Olympics. It subsequently became the home of Montreal's professional baseball and Canadian football teams. Since 2004, when the Montreal Expos relocated to Washington, D.C., the stadium has no main tenant, and with a history of financial and structural problems, is largely seen as a white elephant. La tour de Montréal, the tower incorporated into the base of the stadium, is the tallest inclined tower in the world at 175 metres. The stadium's nickname The Big O is a reference to both its name and to the doughnut-shape of the permanent component of the stadium's roof, though The Big Owe has been used to reference the astronomical cost of the stadium and the 1976 Olympics as a whole.It is the largest stadium, by seating capacity, in Canada.

The last thing our tour guide said to us was,"You can't leave Montreal without eating Smoked Meat." So we sought our Schwartz's Hebrew Delicatessen, a 30 minute walk from our hotel. Smoked Meat turns out to be smoked beef brisket piled high on rye bread garnished with mustard. We ordered sides of slaw and olives, it was good and reasonable $5.90 for the sandwich.

Now we can leave Montreal, we catch a train to Quebec at 7:00AM tomorrow.

Experiencing Montreal

We arrived in Montreal at 6:30 PM after an 11 hour trip from D.C., it was a long day, but a great way to travel. Our hotel the Saint-Sulpice in Old Town Montreal is magnificent. All the rooms are suites the staff are super friendly and helpful and we are in the center of Old Town which means that we can walk to everything that we want to see and do. I booked it over Travelocity.com and was able to get our rooms for $198 per night far below the market rate.

We had dinner at Chez Suzette a warm French café that specializes in crepes, quiche, and fondue. Nita and I had the cheese fondue and a chicken/avocado salad, which is something different for us, accompanied by a California Sauvignon Blanc. It turned out to be just what we needed after a long day of traveling. I slept well.

Monday morning was a sleep-in opportunity, Nita and I skipped breakfast, Ron and Avie got out and experienced some to the first class pastry. The highlight of my day was a bike trip around Montreal. Ron and I found Ca Roule Montreal on Wheels where we rented bikes and were given a detailed map and instructions on the many bike trails around the city. Montreal is an island connected to the mainland by 17 bridges. Most of our bike trip was on Montreal’s secondary islands holding their new Casino, their Grand Prix track (Curert Gille-Villeneuve) and miles of bike trails. Part of our ride included a turn around the 4.361 km Grand Prix track; a trip over the harbor on a 1 mile bike bridge and winding through the city following the canals. In all it was a 2 hour 16 minute tour seeing the many sides of Montreal. We had a great lunch in Atwater, a farmers market, at a beautiful European Bakery, (had a Copenhagen moment, beautiful woman giving directions) we both commented that it would be nice to have this kind of bakery in Birmingham; heck it would be great to have the many miles of bike trails in Birmingham. While in the bike shop we met a guy from Birmingham, Jack Tucker. The world is getting smaller, or someone is following us and we stumble over them... naaa.

While the boys went biking Nita and Avie walked and had a nice French lunch of crepes and an Italian gelato. The old city had some wonderful old buildings but as we walked up the hill new Montreal came into view. Glass buildings, lots of construction and packed side walks. We did discover that there were not as many restaurants as in old town nor tourist shops. The shopping was on St. Catherine’s Street where the all ready mentioned packed side walks resided. Tomorrow we are looking forward to a Gray Line tour thru all of Montreal. The trees are lovely and the temperature is excellent, good-bye 90 degree weather.

We had dinner at Restaurant Le Bourlingueur, a small french restaurant that served full meals including soup or salad, entree, coffee and desert for a set price. I had grilled salmon accompanied by a Italian Chardonnay for $18.95. The salmon came with rice and grilled cantaloupe melon. The melon gave the salmon a fruity added flavor, it was quite nice.
It started raining at 5:00 PM and is forecast to continue through the day tomorrow, thus we have scheduled a bus tour of the city.

Touring D.C.

Our day started at the Rayburn Building in Spencer Bachus's office, our congressman's who has arranged a guided tour of the Capitol for us, which was full of information, spotting's of Charlie Rangole, Barnie Frank and Stephen Colbert, and a big feeling of patriotism. We then headed to the Four Seasons Hotel in Georgetown where we met Teeki a woman that Avie had done her residency at UAB several decades ago. We had a light lunch at Furins Restaurant, a small friendly salad and sandwich family establishment.

We then jumped on the Hop-On Hop-Off bus to see the sights of D.C. Dinner in Union Station at The America Restaurant which serves regional foods from all over the US including a "tube steak sandwich". We got back on the bus for a night tour of the cities monuments.

Saturday started with a light breakfast, Nita and I find that the biggest danger in traveling is over eating and that early restraint allows for later indulgence. So a short walk to the McDonalds and sharing a “Big Breakfast” was just perfect to start our day.


We were lucky D.C. was holding the 10th annual Book Festival on the Mall this Saturday. Three blocks of the Mall were filled with large tents housed representatives from each of the states and territories promoting authors and literature coming from their respective states. Other tents presented authors from the mutable genres of literature to include Mystery and Romance, Poetry, Children, Teen, and Contemporary. Nita and I happened into the Contemporary tent and listened to Rea Drummond a bloger, housewife, mother, rancher from Oklahoma (www.thePioneerwoman.com) and author. I learned a lot about blogging and decided that I needed to restructure my websites and blogs in an effort to bring all of my websites together.

At noon we met u p with Ron and Avie back at the hotel and walked down to the harbor on the Potomac to have lunch. We had seen the open air seafood market the day before and wanted to try some of the fresh fish and take-in the unique ambiance. We should have sought out the locals and asked for guidance instead we took the easy route and ordered the promoted combination meal on the overhead menu consisting of three jumbo shrimp a crab cake sandwich, slaw and an ear of corn, all for $11.95. It just did not live up to our anticipation. Instead we should have each ordered a dozen steamed shrimp; a dozen steamed blue crab and an ear of corn and then proceeded to get dirty eating the local seafood.

Full but disappointed we headed back towards the mall and parted with Nita and Avie at the La Event Metro station for our trip north to the McPherson Square stop where Ron and I had an appointment to take a 2 hour Segway tour of the Capital. This is the way to see the Capital at 12 ½ miles per hour. Sidewalks, streets and open fields were our path through the city. The Segway was a quick learn and none of our eight co-riders had any problem moving through D.C. on our two hour tour. The tour is a bit pricy at $70 but it is well worth the price. We got back to the hotel around 6:00 PM, just in time to catch the forth quarter of the Alabama – Arkansas football game. Alabama came from behind to remain undefeated.

Dinner was at the hotel, bland and under seasoned is my best description, but we had to get to bed early so that we could catch our 3:15 AM train to NYC where we would catch our 8:00 AM to Montreal. Nita and Avie insisted that we meat in the lobby at 2:15 AM to catch a cab; Ron would call the desk at 2:00AM and have the desk arrange for a cab to pick us up at 2:15 AM. At 2:37 AM we stood in front of the hotel. No cab.

I have found in life that every-so- often someone has to step forward and assume the role of ass-hole or things will not proceed as you wish because it is easer to just let things proceed on their natural course.

I approached the hotel desk clerk for the second time, “There is no cab.”

“I’ve called twice; they’ve said a cab is on the way.”

“We have a 3:15 train and it’s your responsibility as our host to get us to the train station! Do you have a car?”
“Yes”

“Get your keys and drive us to the train station!”

“I can’t do that I can’t leave.”

“Give me your keys, I need to borrow your car, I’ll leave it in front of Union Station.”

“I can’t do that; I’ll call the cab company again.”

Its 2:42 PM, I look around the lobby and see an older white haired gentleman in a white shirt with a Hotel Logo sitting in a chair on the other side of the lobby, he appears to be the security guard. I shout, “Do you have a car?”

“Yes” he responds in a heavy Irish accent.

“I’ll pay you to drive us to the train station, will you do that?”

He gets up and approaches the desk at a slow pace, “I’ll drive you if he gives me permission,” motioning to the desk clerk, “but I won’t take your money.”

We gain permission from the desk clerk, and I breath a sigh of releaf and feel that once again my Ass-Hole personality served me well.

I announce with pride to my fellow travelers that we are going to make it to the train on time, a good Samaritan is on his way. At 2:47 our Irish, 72 year old knight in white shirt pulls up in front of the hotel in a subcompact Mazda. One of our bags fills the trunk; there are three more large bags, four carry-on and four people.

“I’ll make two trips,” he announces.

Avie mutters, “This isn’t going to work.”

While all this was going on a man in an enclosed pick-up truck from a service that delivers lost airline baggage was delivering some lost bags to the hotel. He pulls in behind the Mazda and comes forward and tells us, “I’ll take your bags and follow the Mazda to the train station.”

Ron and I hustle around loading the bags into the back of the pick-up and getting the ladies into the Mazda. “I’ll ride with you in the pick-up.” I announce.

‘There’s no room in the cab,” the delivery man informs me. “Shit this could be the last time I see our luggage,” I think and grab Nita and my backpacks and Ron and Avie’s carry-on and throw them in the back of the Mazda. I turn to the delivery man and ask him, “ you will follow us and bring our bags to the train station, I can trust you can’t I?”

He mumbles something about a “Big Tip” and I feel better.

At 3: 05 AM Sunday morning we arrive at the gate in Union Station and shortly thereafter board our train to NYC. We arrived at Penn Station at 7:40 AM and changed trains to continue on our 11 hour trip onto Montréal. The train route follows the Hudson River out of NYC up to Albany passing through cities like Poughkeepsie, Rhincliff and Hudson. As we traveled north the fall foliage started to dot the shoreline adding a colorful contrast to the backdrop of the Catskills and Adirondacks. Ron tells me that we passed West Point Military Academy sitting right on the bluffs overlooking the Hudson River. I missed it, I was asleep as were Nita and Avie.

There are 5 lighthouses on the Hudson between NYC and Albany, the Hudson-Athens lighthouse was placed in service in 1874 and still helps to guide ships safely around the Middle Flats between Hudson and Athens.

In Albany we stopped to change engines needing a diesel engine to provide the power needed to climb the hills that we would encounter as we travel further north. The train traveled at a speed ranging from 79 mph to 100 mph between NYC an Albany and then slowed substantially as we entered the mountains further north.

Just before noon we discovered that the Adirondack #69 train does not have the Dinning Car that we so enjoyed on our trip between Birmingham and D.C. Thus, Nita and I succumb to a micro waved cheeseburger and Hinie Lite while Ron and Avie dinned lavishly on a bowl of Raisin Brand Crunchy.

As we traveled north we passed by the 234 miles of connected waterways that shaped the relationship between the United Sates and Canada in the early years of our country. From the Hudson River and Champlain Canal in the south through Lake Champlain and Lake George, all the way to the St. Lawrence River in Quebec these bodies of water were the source of many conflicts including the French and Indian War 1754 – 1763.

At the Canadian boarder the train stopped for a customs check by the Canadian authorities. As we sat waiting for the officers we engaged an 18 year ”shelia,” Lora, from Australia who told us of her three month journey that has taken her from Australia to England to the US and now one week in Canada then back to the US for visits to Florida and California before returning home. She shared that the highlight of her travels thus far was Nashville. We marveled at her courage to travel by herself staying in youth hostels and with “mates” and family.

Three of the four of us sailed through the brief interrogation by the two Canadian officers. Ron however, was questioned extensively, “Have you spent any time in jail?, do you have any tattoos? , have you ever been arrested?” Ron lied to all three questions and we proceeded on our journey into Canada.

Train...Train

The East Coast Adventure started on the 2:40 Amtrak Crescent train making it’s daily run between New Orleans and New York City; we boarded in Birmingham for our 20 hour trip to Washington DC. Our accommodations are in a sleeper which Amtrak refers to as a “roomette”; a 4’ by 8’ compartment that functions as a sitting room by day and two bulk beds by night. The roomette contains a commode and small sink, two facing chairs, which convert into the lower bunk and an upper berth. The train is clean and our stewardess is cordial and helpful. “Dinner is served between 5 and 9 and I’ll turn down your room between 9:00 and 9:30, is that OK?” There’s juice, coffee and bottled water available at the end of the car.

The trip to Atlanta takes 4 hours, the same trip by car takes 2.5 hours, but I’m not driving and I can get up and walk around and actually see the scenery. Dinner was a NY Strip, baked potato, salad and Mississippi Mud Cheesecake; you don’t get that on an airplane. The steward shared her story of the LSU fans traveling to Tuscaloosa to play the Tide, their so drunk that they have to stop at crossings to be met by local police to have LSU fans put off the train. “It’s a nightmare, and this weekend we have the New Orleans fans traveling to Atlanta, none of us want to work.”

We arrived in DC at 10:00 AM well rested and well fed to find sunny skies and 90 degree weather. We took in the Air and Space, a Star Spangled Banner exhibit, the First Ladies, and a Norman Rockwell collection belonging to Stephen Spielberg and George Lucas. We then found our way down to the Potomac River had a great lunch at Phillips Seafood and checked out the seafood market where we’ll eat tomorrow. We had to have walked 10 miles today so hot and sweaty we retreating to our Holiday Inn Capital room for a shower and some R&R.

Touring Eastern North America

Tomorrow we board Amtrak in Birmingham, AL for a 21 day trip up the east coast; three days in Washington D.C., back on the train to Montreal and Quebec, then board the Norwegian Cruise Lines for a seven day cruise to Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, Maine and off in Boston. We'll end our trip with three days in NYC and back on the train to Birmingham. Over the past 15 years Nita and I have traveled Europe, China and Asia this way now it's time to tour North America.